''Serangoon Road'' is an Australian-Singaporean

television drama series In film and television, drama is a category or genre of narrative fiction (or semi-fiction) intended to be more serious than humorous in tone. Drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular super-g ...

which premiered on 22 September 2013 on the

Australian Broadcasting Corporation The Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) is the national broadcaster of Australia. It is principally funded by direct grants from the Australian Government and is administered by a government-appointed board. The ABC is a publicly-own ...

(ABC) and

HBO Asia HBO Asia is the Asian division of HBO, based out of Singapore. It was originally launched on 1 May 1992 as MovieVision, later rebranding on 1 June 1995 to its current name after being purchased by Home Box Office, Inc. The Singapore-based broad ...

. It is a detective noir drama set in the 1960s, revolving around Serangoon Road in Singapore. The 10-part series is a collaboration between ABC and HBO Asia and was filmed largely in Singapore. It was created by Paul D. Barron and directed by Peter Andrikidis and Tony Tilse. The final episode of the series aired on 29 November 2013. Though the series received encouraging ratings, HBO has no plans for a second season.

Plot

The series is set in Singapore during the mid-1960s, a tumultuous time in the island's history. The island state is at a crossroads as it is about to break away from

Malaysia Malaysia ( ; ) is a country in Southeast Asia. The federation, federal constitutional monarchy consists of States and federal territories of Malaysia, thirteen states and three federal territories, separated by the South China Sea into two r ...

and become an independent country. The British colonial rulers are gradually pulling out of the country, while racial and political tensions are running high and the ensuing riots are threatening national security. Communist insurgency movements are active in neighbouring countries and trying to push into Singapore. The protagonist Sam Callaghan is an Australian living in Singapore. As a child, he was interned in

Changi Prison Changi Prison Complex, often known simply as Changi Prison, is a prison in Changi in the eastern part of Singapore. History First prison Before Changi Prison was constructed, the only penal facility in Singapore was at Pearl's Hill, beside t ...

by the occupying Japanese and later joined the military, serving in Malaya. He now runs an import/export business with his partner Kang. Sam agrees to help neighbour Patricia Cheng at her detective agency after her husband is killed while working on a case.

Cast

Don Hany Don Hany (born 18 September 1975) is an Australian actor. He is best known for his role in the series ''White Collar Blue'', Dr. Chris Havel in ''Offspring'', and the leading role of Zane Malik in the SBS series '' East West 101''. He is also ...

as Sam Callaghan *

Joan Chen Joan Chen (born April 26, 1961) is a Chinese-American actress and film director. In China, she performed in the 1979 film and came to the attention of American audiences for her performance in the 1987 film ''The Last Emperor''. She is also ...

as Patricia Cheng, runs the Cheng Detective Agency after the death of her husband. *

Michael Dorman Michael Dorman (born 26 April 1981) is a New Zealand actor, best known for his starring roles as NASA astronaut Gordo Stevens in the Apple TV+ original science fiction space drama series ''For All Mankind'' and as John Tavner in the comedy-dram ...

as Conrad Harrison, young American

CIA The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA ), known informally as the Agency and historically as the Company, is a civilian foreign intelligence service of the federal government of the United States, officially tasked with gathering, processing, ...

agent. *

Maeve Dermody Maeve Dermody ( ; born 2 November 1985) is a UK-based Australian actress. After a film appearance at 5 years old, her adult acting career has included work in Australian and British television, theatre, short films, and movies. She characterises ...

as Claire Simpson, married to Frank, and having an affair with Sam. *

Rachael Blake Rachael Morelle Blake (born May 26, 1971) is an Australian actress. Early life Blake was born in Perth, Western Australia. At the age of 18 months, she moved to England with her English parents, only to return to Perth at age 11. Blake was b ...

as Lady Tuckworth *

Ario Bayu Ario Bayu Wicaksono (born 6 February 1985) is an Indonesian actor. Early life and career Born in Jakarta to Javanese parents, Ario Bayu had spent nearly all of his formative years in the city of Hamilton, New Zealand, where his father studi ...

as Inspector Amran * Tony Martin as Macca, Australian journalist. *

Nicholas Bell Nicholas Bell (born 15 August 1958) is an English actor who has worked in Australia for more than 20 years. He works regularly with the Melbourne Theatre Company as well as with all the major television broadcasters in Australia, most notably th ...

as Maxwell Black *

Jeremy Lindsay Taylor Jeremy Lindsay Taylor (born Sydney, 19 September 1973) is an Australian actor. Education He finished his education at Newington College in 1991 and graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree, with a major in drama and sociology, from the Universi ...

as Frank Simpson, expat businessman, Claire's husband. *

P.J. Lane P. J. Lane is an Australian actor, entertainer, philanthropist, school basketball coach and former professional basketball player. Early life Born in the United States but raised in Australia, Lane is the only child of Jayne Ambrose and Logi ...

Pamelyn Chee Pamelyn Chee () is a Singapore Singapore (), officially the Republic of Singapore, is a sovereign island country and city-state in maritime Southeast Asia. It lies about one degree of latitude () north of the equator, off the souther ...

as Su Ling * Chin Han as Kay Song * Alaric Tay as Kang *Cleave Williams as Nate Crosby *

Shane Briant Shane Briant (17 August 1946 – 26 May 2021) was an English actor and novelist. Briant studied law at Trinity College Dublin but became a professional actor playing the lead in ''Hamlet'' at the Eblana Theatre, Dublin. Briant is best known for ...

as Major Miller *

Valentine Payen A valentine is a card or gift given on Valentine's Day, or one's sweetheart. Valentine or Valentines may also refer to: People and fictional characters * Valentine (name), a given name and a surname, including a list of people and fictional cha ...

as Young Sam's Mother *

Edmund Chen Edmund Chen () (born 4 February 1961) is a Singaporean former actor and artist. He began his career in 1987 and rose to become one of Singapore's most prominent and popular actors during the 1990s and early 2000s. Career Chen entered the entertai ...

as James Lim *

Russell Wong Russell Wong (; born March 1, 1963) is an American actor of film and television. He was one of the first actors of Chinese descent to hold a leading role in a primetime American television series, portraying Jian-Wa with Chi Muoi Lo portraying W ...

as Winston Cheng * Christian Matthew Wong as XiaoQiang

Episodes

International broadcasts

References

External links

''Serangoon Road''
– HBO * {{DEFAULTSORT:Serangoon Road Television shows set in Singapore 2013 Australian television series debuts APRA Award winners Australian drama television series Australian Broadcasting Corporation original programming English-language television shows HBO Asia original programming